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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (March 31, 2019) — The Tampa Bay Rowdies were defeated 1-0 by Louisville City FC on Saturday  at Slugger Field in Louisville, Kentucky.

A second-half goal by midfielder Oscar Jimenez was the deciding factor in what was a very entertaining match.

“I am gutted for the players as I believe they had a great performance and deserved at least a point,” said Rowdies head coach Stuart Campbell. “It was another good performance on the road by the Rowdies which is a ver positive takeaway.”

It was a busy first half for Rowdies goalkeeper Cody Mizell, who made two great saves to keep the match scoreless.

The first of the two came in the 15th minute, when Mizell was able to get his left foot on a Luke Spencer shot that was destined for the back of the net.

His second stop would also be on Spencer, but this time Mizell would come off his line to close down the angle and deny the forward any chance at scoring.

Despite a good first half, the Rowdies were not able to create any dangerous chances on Greg Ranjitsingh’s goal.

That would change in the second half, with the Rowdies creating an early chance in the 52nd minute. Forward Sebastian Guenzatti received a through ball from Jack Blake and fired a shot on goal, but the ball struck Lou City keeper Greg Ranjitsingh in the face, denying the equalizer.

Despite getting several shots off in the ensuing minutes, the Rowdies would give up the only goal of the night in the 69th minute. Jimenez received a lovely ball from Paolo Delpiccolo, and slotted it past Mizell to make it 1-0.

“When the ball goes out of bounds prior to the goal, Neill was on the floor trying to get his boot back on but the referee claimed he didn’t see it,” said Campbell. “It’s a frustrating way to concede a goal, but it’s done and dusted now.”

The Rowdies continued to push for the equalizer with the clock winding down, but it wouldn’t be enough to leave Louisville with a point. The best chance came in the final minute of the match as forward Georgi Hristov made a run into the box and when the shot looked like it would go on frame, Louisville’s defender was able to dive in front to send it out for a corner.

“We turn the page to our next match, which is in front of our amazing fans at Al Lang Stadium,” said Campbell. “We’re looking forward to playing at home and putting this loss behind us.”

The Rowdies return home to Al Lang Stadium to face Ottawa Fury FC this Saturday, April 7, presented by Teknia Logistic. For tickets, call 727-222-2000 or click here.

Scoring Summary
Louisville: Oscar Jimenez – 69th minute (assisted by Paolo DelPiccolo)

Caution Summary
Louisville: Pat McMahon – 26th minute
Tampa Bay: Georgi Hristov – 60th minute
Tampa Bay: Neill Collins – 72nd minute

Starting Lineups
Rowdies XI (4-3-3): GK Cody Mizell; D David Najem, Hunter Gorskie, Neill Collins, Zac Portillos; M Jack Blake (Joe Cole 80′), Lance Rozeboom, Marcel Schäfer; F Sebastian Guenzatti (Jochen Graf 68′), Georgi Hristov (c), Leo Fernandes (Junior Flemmings 75′)

Louisville City FC XI (4–5-1): GK Greg Ranjitsingh; D Kyle Smith, Sean Totsch, Paco Craig, Pat McMahon; M Oscar Jimenez, Shaun Francis (Speedy Williams 66′), Magnus Rasmussen, Paolo DelPiccolo (c), George Davis IV (Niall McCabe 86′); F Luke Spencer (Ilija Ilic 80′)

The Basics
Tampa Bay Rowdies at Louisville City FC
Saturday, March 31 – 3 p.m.
Louisville Slugger Field, Louisville, Kentucky
Follow us for live updates on Twitter at @RowdiesGameday

How to Watch
The match will be streamed live on the USL’s YouTube page here. You can follow live stats and watch the game in the USL Match Center here.

Watch Party
Head to Big Storm Brewing Co.’s taproom on Saturday afternoon for the Rowdies’ official watch party. If you wear Rowdies gear, you’ll get $1 off all pints AND enjoy a free pint every time the Rowdies score. The taproom is located at 12707 49th St. N, Clearwater.

Records
Louisville City FC: 1-0-0, 3 points, 4th place
Tampa Bay: 2-0-0, 6 points, 2nd place

Series History
The Rowdies and Louisville have met only twice, with the home team winning on both occasions last year. Louisville won 2-1 in Louisville on April 15, while the Rowdies won the return fixture 2-0 on May 13. Of the three Rowdies to score against Louisville last season, only Georgi Hristov remains. Martin Paterson and Deshorn Brown were the others.

Rowdies Notes
The Rowdies have opened the year in strong form, earning wins in both trips out so far, topping North Carolina FC 3-1 away from home on opening weekend and then following that up with a 2-0 home win over Bethlehem Steel FC last week.

Tampa Bay Head Coach Stuart Campbell made only one change to his team last week, handing a start to Junior Flemmings on the right wing in place of Michael Nanchoff. Flemmings’ Rowdies debut was short-lived as he exited the match in the 33rd minute with a minor injury. Flemmings is expected to be available this weekend.

Leo Fernandes and Georgi Hristov have scored a goal in each of the Rowdies matches so far this season to lead the team in scoring. Fernandes was perhaps unlucky to not score twice last week, with an apparent goal being called off by the match officials for not fully crossing the line. He was named to the USL Team of the Week on Tuesday afternoon.

With two goals to his name so far in 2018, Hristov is now just two goals short of tying Rowdies legend Derek Smethurst for the all-time franchise scoring record of 57 goals. Smethurst played for the Rowdies from 1975 to 1978. Hristov has scored at least once in the Rowdies’ last six matches dating back to the end of the 2017 season.

Goalkeeper Cody Mizell has been impressive in his second stint with the Rowdies, having won the starting goalkeeper position in a tight preseason battle and making the most of his chance through the first two weeks. Mizell has 11 saves to his name in 2018, including four last week to pick up his first clean sheet. He previously played for the Rowdies in 2014, though he made only four appearances that year.

Scouting Louisville City FC
Louisville City FC had a fairly quiet offseason after winning the 2017 USL Cup, keeping things consistent for the most part. The champions opened the season as home two weeks ago, beating expansion side Nashville SC 2-0 with goals from Luke Spencer and Niall McCabe after halftime.

Louisville had the weekend off last week after its scheduled match against North Carolina FC was called off Saturday morning due to unplayable conditions following heavy rains in the area. LCFC hasn’t played since March 17 due to that unplanned bye week.

Slugger Field is notoriously tough to play in for opposing teams due to its unique set-up. Louisville posted 11 wins and only two losses at home in the regular season last year en route to earning the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. In four postseason matches at Slugger Field last season, Louisville conceded only one goal.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (March 25, 2018) — The Tampa Bay Rowdies continued their hot start to the USL regular season Saturday night, overcoming a bit of adversity to beat Bethlehem Steel FC 2-0 at Al Lang Stadium to pick up their second win in two matches to start the season.

Georgi Hristov and Leo Fernandes scored within six minutes of one another in the second half to carry the Rowdies to victory.

Here’s Three Things from a successful home opener.

1. Home sweet home
Last season, the Rowdies were nearly unbeatable at Al Lang Stadium, posting 11 wins, four draws and only one loss in 15 regular season contests. This year, the goal is to be even better in downtown St. Petersburg.

Things are off to a good start after an absolutely electric night at Al Lang in the 2018 home opener. A crowd of 7,368 joined the Rowdies and provided an incredible atmosphere from start to finish.

“(The players) just love playing in this stadium in front of the fans,” Rowdies Head Coach Stuart Campbell said. “The fans are great. They support us in a great, great way and we appreciate it.”

Saturday’s win extends the Rowdies’ unbeaten record in home openers in the Modern Era. Tampa Bay is now 4-0-5 in those matches.

2. Two is the magic number
Tampa Bay scored two goals in Saturday night’s match and won by two. The Rowdies have now played two matches in the regular season and have two wins. Both wins were by a two-goal margin. This is the second time the Rowdies have started a season with two wins in two matches. The first time was last season.

Georgi Hristov and Leo Fernandes each scored their second goal of the season in the win over Bethlehem last night. With three more points in their pocket, the Rowdies moved up to No. 2 in the early Eastern Conference Standings, just behind Charlotte on goal difference.

Need one more two to believe that two is the magic number? Georgi Hristov is now just two goals shy of tying Derek Smethurst’s all-time Rowdies scoring record.

3. Beating Bethlehem
Saturday night was the first time the Rowdies have found a way to beat Bethlehem. Both meetings last season were contentious and both ended in draws.

After earning their first playoff berth last season, the Steel FC looks like it will be competitive once again in 2018. Bethlehem posted a 4-1 win over Richmond on opening weekend, a statement of intent for this year.

Head Coach Brendan Burke’s starting lineup against the Rowdies included six players signed to Major League Soccer contracts with the Philadelphia Union, who were on a bye week this weekend. Those players were John McCarthy, Derrick Jones, Anthony Fontana, Marcus Epps, Fabian Herbers and Cory Burke.

McCarthy and Fontana were opening day starters for the Union earlier this month, with Burke and Jones both entering the match off the bench.

With all those Philadelphia Union first-teamers on the field at Al Lang Stadium on Saturday night, the Rowdies’ win may end up looking even better by the end of the season.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (March 24, 2018) — For a moment or two early in the second half, the crowd gathered inside Al Lang Stadium on Saturday night may have wondered if it was going to be one of those stubborns nights where the Tampa Bay Rowdies outplay their opponent but don’t get the result they deserve.

With Bethlehem Steel FC John McCarthy racking up the saves and a controversial decision having gone against the Rowdies just before halftime, it was starting to feel like it wasn’t Tampa Bay’s night.

But then, a pair of quick-fire goals from Georgi Hristov and Leo Fernandes in the 62nd and 68th minutes, respectively, puts those fears to bed and sent the 7,368 Rowdies fans home happy with a 2-0 Tampa Bay win.

With the result in the books, the Rowdies (2-0-0, 6 points) preserve their unbeaten record in home openers in the Modern Era.

“I thought it was a real good performance,” Rowdies Head Coach Stuart Campbell said. “I thought we defended really well as a team and attacked really, really well as a team. … We started the second half really well and got a couple of goals.”

Coming off a 4-1 win last weekend, Bethlehem (1-1-0, 3 points) looked sharp in the early going with Tampa Bay forced onto the back foot a bit. Rowdies goalkeeper Cody Mizell made a pair of early saves, including a nice tip over of the crossbar from a Cory Burke header in the 6th minute.

Once the Rowdies clicked into gear, though, Tampa Bay looked like too much for Steel FC to handle.

Tampa Bay’s first great scoring chance came in the 20th minute when David Najem slipped a through ball in for Joe Cole to shoot on the spin, but McCarthy made an excellent kick save to deny Cole the opening goal.

A controversial moment arrived in the 45th minute when McCarthy made back-to-back saves to deny Leo Fernandes twice, only for Fernandes to take a third shot that forced Steel FC defender AJ Paterson to clear the ball as he fell into his own net. The Rowdies felt the ball crossed the line and began to celebrate, but the goal wasn’t given.

The Rowdies took 16 shots (eight on target) in the first half, but were unable to break through officially and put a goal on the board.

With it all to play for in the second half, the Rowdies put Bethlehem to the sword.

A Jack Blake free kick in the 62nd minute proved dangerous, with Hristov heading past McCarthy to put Tampa Bay up 1-0. It was Hristov’s second goal in as many matches and leaves him just two goals short of tying Derek Smethurst for Tampa Bay’s all-time goalscoring record.

Just six minutes later, Fernandes took a defender on one-on-one and fired a low shot to the far post to double the lead. It was Fernandes’ second goal in as many matches as well.

“I thought we responded really well in the second half,” Fernandes said. “We came out firing and Georgi scored a really nice goal. It was a relief that we finally got one because we had pressed so hard in the first half.”

With a two-goal lead, the Rowdies closed the match out professionally to secure the victory.

Mizell made four saves to pick up his first clean sheet of the young season.

The Rowdies are on the road next week for an early season showdown with defending champion Louisville City FC before returning home to host Ottawa Fury FC on Saturday, April 7. For tickets, call (727) 222-2000 or click here. 

Scoring Summary
Tampa Bay: Georgi Hristov – 62nd minute (assisted by Jack Blake)
Tampa Bay: Leo Fernandes – 68th minute (assisted by David Najem)

Caution Summary
Bethlehem: Fabian Herbers – 54th minute
Tampa Bay: David Najem – 90th minute

Starting Lineups
Rowdies XI (4-3-3): GK Cody Mizell; D David Najem, Hunter Gorskie, Neill Collins, Zac Portillos; M Joe Cole (c) (Lance Rozeboom 74′), Jack Blake, Marcel Schäfer; F Junior Flemmings (Sebastian Guenzatti 33′ (Jochen Graf 86′)), Georgi Hristov, Leo Fernandes

Bethlehem Steel FC (4-2-3-1): GK Tomas Romero; D Matt Mahoney, Brandon Aubrey, AJ Paterson, Prosper Chiluya (Mike Catalano 82′); M Derrick Jones, James Chambers (c); M Anthony Fontana, Marcus Epps, Fabian Herbers (Santi Moar 67′); F Cory Burke (Brandon Allen 75′)

The Basics
Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. Bethlehem Steel FC
Saturday, March 24, 7:30 p.m. ET
Al Lang Stadium, St. Petersburg, Fla.
Follow us for live updates on Twitter at @RowdiesGameday

Tickets
Tickets for Saturday’s match are available by calling (727) 222-2000 or clicking here. Gates open at 6 p.m.

How to Watch
The match will be broadcast locally on thisTV Tampa Bay and online on the USL’s official YouTube channel here.

Parking
There are several options for parking at Al Lang Stadium and around downtown. Parking in Lot A, right in front of the stadium, is for PASS HOLDERS ONLY and opens at 4 p.m. For more parking options, click here.

Records
Tampa Bay: 1-0-0 (W-T-L), 3 points, 3rd place, Eastern Conference
Bethlehem Steel FC: 1-0-0 (W-T-L), 3 points, 1st place, Eastern Conference

Rowdies Notes
The Rowdies opened the 2018 USL season with a 3-1 win over North Carolina FC last weekend. Leo Fernandes opened the scoring in the 23rd minute. Just a few minutes after conceded an equalizing goal, Georgi Hristov restored Tampa Bay’s lead just before halftime. Jack Blake would score the Rowdies’ third goal in the 90th minute, securing an opening day win for Tampa Bay.

The Rowdies are unbeaten in home openers in the Modern Era (2010-present), with a record of 3-0-5 (W-L-T). Tampa Bay won its home opener last year 1-0 over Orlando City B after drawing the previous four.

Jack Blake’s perfomance against North Carolina FC earned him a spot in the USL Team of the Week on Tuesday afternoon. On Thursday, his goal was voted Goal of the Week by USL fans.

Goalkeeper Cody Mizell had a great performance in his second debut for the Rowdies in last week’s win. Mizell made four total appearances for Tampa Bay in 2014, but then spent three seasons playing professionally in Iceland and then for the Charlotte Independence. He re-signed with Tampa Bay this winter and made seven saves in the first appearance of his second stint with the Rowdies.

After scoring last weekend, Georgi Hristov is now just three goals short of tying Rowdies legend Derek Smethurst for the all-time franchise scoring record of 57 goals. Smethurst played for the Rowdies from 1975 to 1978.

Scouting Bethlehem
Bethlehem Steel FC opened the regular season last week in style, posting a 4-1 home win over the Richmond Kickers on Sunday afternoon to climb to the very top of the early-season Eastern Conference Standings.

Brandon Allen, a new signing after spending the previous few seasons with the New York Red Bulls organization, is already off to a hard start with his new club. He scored twice in Bethlehem’s win over Richmond. Allen won the 2016 USL Rookie of the Year Award in leading the Red Bulls to the USL Cup with 21 goals that season.

Bethlehem earned a playoff berth last season, finishing as the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference before being eliminated by eventual champion Louisville City FC in the first round of the playoffs.

This match could feature the Najem brothers going head-to-head once again. Tampa Bay defender David Najem could face his brother, Adam, a midfielder for the Philadelphia Union that played for Bethlehem on loan last weekend. The Najem brothers last played against each other in February in the Rowdies’ preseason win over Philadelphia.

St. Petersburg, Fla. (March 22, 2018) – At just 10 years old, Marissa stood on the pitch for the first time at Al Lang Stadium at a “Gold Together  for Childhood Cancer” match and wowed the crowd with her heartfelt rendition of the National Anthem.  Only two years prior, she was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Today, 12-year-old Marissa Peddie is cancer free and the first ever official anthem singer of the Tampa Bay Rowdies.

“I’m so excited to become the Rowdies’ official anthem singer,” said Marissa. “When the Rowdies asked me if I was interested, I was like OMG, really? YES!! I love coming to the games and cheering the Rowdies to victory.”

Marissa discovered her love of playing keyboard, writing and singing during the challenging two years of chemotherapy treatments at John’s Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. Now cancer free, she is using her talents to pursue singing and songwriting. In addition to singing at Rowdies matches, some of Marissa’s most notable performances include The Miss Florida Pageant and singing a song with legendary artist Sheryl Crow, on stage at the Clearwater Holiday Jazz Festival. When she’s not busy being a 7th grader and playing Minecraft with her friends, Marissa is working on writing and recording her first EP.

Marissa is scheduled to make her debut as the Rowdies’ 2018 official anthem singer this Saturday, March 24th at Al Lang Stadium prior to the team’s home opener vs Bethlehem Steel FC, which kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Tickets to the match can be purchased by visiting https://www.rowdiessoccer.com or by calling 727-222-2000.

For more information on the Tampa Bay Rowdies and upcoming matches, visit https://www.rowdiessoccer.com

(ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.) March 21, 2018 – Can’t make it to all seventeen home matches?  No problem! 

The Rowdies have re-established their season ticket exchange program for 2018, allowing season ticket holders to exchange tickets for up to three matches.

Season Ticket Holders will have the ability to exchange their season seats for another seat at any match during the 2018 regular season, with the exception of the March 24 home opener, July 4 match and the October 6 regular season finale. Season Ticket Holders may exchange up to three matches during the season.

In order to take make an exchange, season ticket holders must notify their account executive seventy-two (72) hours prior to the match they wish to exchange. All exchanges will be accommodated as long as seats are available. 

To take advantage of this great benefit, fans must to contact their dedicated account executive at 727-222-2000.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (March 20, 2018) — Tampa Bay Rowdies midfielder Jack Blake has been named to the USL Team of the Week for his performance in his official club debut, a 3-1 win over North Carolina FC over the weekend.

Blake scored the final goal of the match, a blast from outside the box to seal the full three points in the dying minutes of the match. That goal has been nominated for USL Goal of the Week. You can vote for it here. 

The full USL Team of the Week is below.

USL Team of the Week
GK – Jake Fenlason, Saint Louis FC: Fenlason recorded four saves to help Saint Louis claim a point on the road in its opening game of the season against Rio Grande Valley FC.

D – Paco Craig, Louisville City FC: Craig made four tackles, four interceptions and eight clearances to lead Louisville to a shutout victory against Nashville SC.

D – Dekel Keinan, FC Cincinnati: Keinan notched 11 clearances and won five of eight duels as he played a key role in FCC’s 1-0 road victory against the Charleston Battery.

D – Taylor Hunter, Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC: Hunter won five of six duels, completed 85.7 percent of 28 passes and registered seven clearances as the Switchbacks held the LA Galaxy II to only one shot on goal.

M – Nick Hinds, Seattle Sounders FC 2: Hinds capped his professional debut with the game-winning goal in S2’s 2-1 victory against the Portland Timbers 2 and also won two tackles and five of eight duels in the midfield.

M – Cordell Cato, Charlotte Independence: Cato scored the opening two goals as the Independence romped to a 4-1 victory against Ottawa Fury FC in their home opener.

M – Andrew Tinari, New York Red Bulls II: Tinari scored twice and recorded five key passes as the Red Bulls II rallied to take a 2-1 victory against Toronto FC II.

M – Jack Blake, Tampa Bay Rowdies: Blake completed 35 of 45 passes, registered two tackles and two clearances and capped the Rowdies’ 3-1 win against North Carolina FC with a fine long-range goal.

F – Brandon Allen, Bethlehem Steel FC: Allen notched a pair of goals in his debut for Steel FC as the hosts pulled away for a 4-1 victory against the Richmond Kickers.

F – Matt Thomas, Las Vegas Lights FC: Thomas’ goal after 70 seconds set a record for the opening goal in a USL expansion club’s history and paved the way for a 3-2 road win against Fresno FC.

F – Kharlton Belmar, Swope Park Rangers: Belmar had two goals and two assists, including the stoppage-time game-winner, as the Rangers took a 4-3 victory on the road against Reno 1868 FC.

Bench: Cody Mizell (TBR), Francis Atuahene (OKC), Niall McCabe (LOU), Carlos Alvarez (LV), Solomon Asante (PHX), Hadji Barry (SPR), Villyan Bijev (SAC)